ABSTRACT
Objective To study the changes of cognitive function and brain microstructure of patients with benign epilepsy of childhood with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS) from neuropsychological test and voxel-based morphometry.Methods Sixteen patients with BECTS and 16 healthy volunteers,who were matched in gender,age and education,were enrolled in this study from May 2014 to May 2015 in the Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College.The cognitive function and morphometry of the subjects were evaluated by neuropsychological test (full scale intelligence quotient (FSIQ),verbal intelligence quotient (VIQ) and performance intelligence quotient (PIQ)) and high-resolution T1-weighted imaging scanning.Thereafter,these data were analyzed with Student's t test,Chi-squared test and correlation analysis.Results (1) FSIQ(79.3±13.3),VIQ(82.3±12.1) andPIQ(81.3±10.3)ofBECTS group were significantly lower than the control group (107.0 ± 6.4,101.6 ± 6.5,114.8 ± 6.2;t =9.511,7.521,16.360,all P ＜0.01).(2) Patients with BECTS showed significantly increased gray matter volume in the bilateral putamen,paracentral lobule and right supplementary motor area (P ＜ 0.05,FDR-corrected).(3) A significant negative correlation was found between the gray matter volume of the left putamen and age of epilepsy onset (r=-0.586,P=0.017).Conclusions (1) There is a certain degree of cognitive impairment in patients with BECTS.(2) Patients with BECTS have some changes in brain microstructure.Genetic factors could indirectly influence the children's brain developmental trajectory,and the age of onset may be associated with the changes on the brain microstructure.